Trim the Olive Trees

I am one of the many unhappy residents of Varsity Street. You only have to drive down our street to see why. This year, we had an overabundance of olives due to the trees not being sprayed last year and the heavy rains we experienced last winter.

I have a big, ugly, loaded tree right outside my house. From November through April, huge overripe olives have rained down on my driveway, sidewalk (which is now solidly black) and street.

I have written to the Parks Department, personally spoken with (Councilman) Gary Tuttle and even the mayor, Tom Buford, to no avail. There “just isn’t any money available” to trim the trees on Varsity Street until the year 1996.

Then, while walking around the neighborhood, I notice the trees on Aurora (Drive) are all nicely trimmed, the trees on Princeton (Avenue) are all cut down, and the trees in Camino Real Park are all being trimmed, unnecessarily so, I believe; it just makes them look prettier. Meanwhile, the residents of Varsity are still living in “Olive Hell.” You just can’t imagine what it is like stepping in those big fat squashy olives. I know if a tree such as I describe were outside the home of Tom Buford, Gary Tuttle or any parks and recreation employee, the problem could be taken care of immediately.

I went door-to-door on Varsity and had most of the residents sign a petition requesting the mayor do something about our problem. Nothing was done. Imagine our chagrin when we read that the city now seems to have enough money to replace some trees downtown to improve the ambience, while the residents of Varsity slog through olive mush.

We are homeowners, taxpaying, hard-working citizens, and I think we deserve better.

JILL MARIE ROWE

Ventura